Certificate of Origin Blockchain Platform Launched

The world’s first blockchain-based platform for electronic certificates of origin (eCOs) was unveiled in Singapore on Tuesday.

The platform is the result of a partnership between the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) and Singapore-based vCargo Cloud. As the first chamber in the world to implement blockchain-based eCOs, SICC seeks to provide its members and trade-related agencies, including trade financing and insurance firms, with a system that offers higher security, efficiency and flexibility. The platform aims to vastly improve transparency, security and efficiency in authenticating trade documents. It permits instant verification of eCOs and runs on a private blockchain network that prevents fraud, alterations and third-party interference.

SICC says the platform represents a quantum leap in processing trade-related documents by hosting information of trade transactions on a tamper-proof distributed ledger system, which can be authenticated and accessed by various stakeholders of the platform. The platform uses QR codes, allowing eCOs to be scanned using smart phones and then printed. The number of allowable prints is restricted to prevent unauthorized duplicates. This improves efficiency and minimizes the costs of verifying COs, removing a major impediment in the process and a frequent cause of high insurance or trade finance costs.

vCargo Cloud intends to leverage on the Singapore launch to promote the platform globally, beginning with Asian countries that are substantive manufacturing exporters such as Japan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, using a pay-per-use model.

The launch of the blockchain-based eCO platform comes amidst the Singapore Government’s call for a Self-Certification regime through the ASEAN Single Window, which aims to expedite
freight clearance and reduce manual paperwork across all 10 member countries.